South African Government to Require Crypto Exchange Licensing by End of Year: Report

South Africa Introduces Regulatory Framework for Crypto Exchanges

South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has announced that all crypto exchanges operating in the country must obtain a license by the end of the year. According to Commissioner Unathi Kamlana, the FSCA has already received around 20 applications for licenses and is expecting more before the November 30 deadline.

Kamlana further warned that any crypto exchange that fails to comply with the licensing requirement by the end of the year will face enforcement action, which may include fines or even closure of the non-compliant firms.

The Commissioner believes that introducing a regulatory framework for crypto products is a necessary step due to the potential risk of serious harm to financial customers. He also expressed the need for time to determine the effectiveness of their measures and assured ongoing collaboration with the crypto industry to refine and implement necessary changes.

Cryptocurrency Regulations Tighten Around the World

South Africa is the first country on the continent to require that digital asset exchanges secure licenses, as crypto regulators and policymakers continue to enforce stricter rules for cryptocurrency. This affects major trading venues, such as Luno (owned by Digital Currency Group) and VALR (backed by Pantera), as well as global platforms like Binance that operate in the country.

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has been involved in crypto and fintech regulations, working with an inter-governmental fintech working group comprised of major financial sector regulators and policymakers, including the National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank.

The trend of intensifying crypto regulations is not isolated to South Africa. For instance, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently announced that crypto service providers in Singapore must place customer assets into a statutory trust by the end of the year for secure storage. This serves as an example of the global shift towards more stringent regulations in the crypto sector.

Cointelegraph has contacted the FSCA to obtain more details concerning this progress, however, at the time of writing, there is no response yet from the crypto currency company, Voyager Crypto, Crypto.com, Crypto Today.